Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she will respond comprehensively to U.S. tariffs, following the announcement the day before by her counterpart Donald Trump of 25% tariffs on cars and light trucks starting next week.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday that she will respond comprehensively to U.S. tariffs, following the announcement the day before by her counterpart Donald Trump of 25% tariffs on cars and light trucks starting next week.
"On April 3, we will be providing a comprehensive response to what Mexico will do in response to this situation, and that doesn't mean we're closing the door on working with the United States," Sheinbaum said at her "People's Morning Press Conference."
During her morning press conference, the president noted that the new taxes will impact the global automotive industry, although Mexico and Canada will have different conditions thanks to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
"Auto importers under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement will be given the opportunity to certify their US content, and systems will be implemented so that the 25% tariff only applies to the value of their non-US content," Sheinbaum explained.
Sheinbaum Pardo emphasized that the U.S. measure, which takes effect on April 3, adds to other recent tariff provisions in sectors such as steel and aluminum.
"We will always protect Mexico, the jobs created here, and Mexican companies," he said, emphasizing the defense of the country's economic sovereignty.
For his part, Economy Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who participated remotely from Washington, emphasized that the Mexican government has held several meetings with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, to negotiate preferential treatment for Mexican products.
"President Sheinbaum's main mandate is for us to protect employment and jobs, income, and our economic activities in Mexico. The automotive and auto parts industries are very important. Just look at the numbers: we export nearly 3 million vehicles to the US and we own or supply 40% of all the auto parts consumed here," said Ebrard Casaubón.
The official detailed three key developments in the negotiations: first, vehicles manufactured in Mexico will receive tariff discounts based on the percentage of U.S. content they incorporate; second, a working group is being established to protect the Mexican auto parts industry, which represents a significant percentage of the U.S. production chain; and third, it has been agreed that the tariff will not be charged multiple times on components that repeatedly cross the border during manufacturing.
"I also want to inform you that I have also asked the Secretary of Economy and his team to meet with the automotive industries, with global executives of the automotive industries, to discuss the scope and how to strengthen this integration we have with the United States. The Mexican automotive industry has a very high level of integration with the United States," said the head of the federal executive branch.
